He's a Tramp
by Ninjarific-Marmalaide
Summary: At the peak of his success, Toushiro finds himself unraveling and ironically hitting rock bottom. When a new perspective is thrusted upon him, will he manage to change his attitude or will it all go to the dogs? Well, every dog has to have his day. TouRin
1. The Unraveling

**Hi there! Ninjarific here with another story idea. I admit that it will be tough keeping up with this story and my OCxHitsugaya story, but this idea kept plaguing me. I couldn't resist . It was like trying to refuse a penguin cupake...which is impossible if you didn't already know! I will try to update as much as possible, I promise. **

**Anyway, I hope you like this story! It's a KarinxToushiro, heehee, my favorite pairing! Read and review because my ears are thirsty for critic!**

**Disclaimer: Fine, fine, I admit it, I am not really the genius that is Tite Kubo. Thus, I do not own his characters! I shall avenge this fact by declaring the story is mine. **

**Enjoy! Disfruta! **

**~Love, Ninjarific**

**Introducing "He's a Tramp"**

**Prologue: The Unraveling**

Hitsugaya Toushiro glanced around the bustling bistro. He was already tired of the gaudy surroundings as he stoically watched the busy floor being blurred by active waiters and hostesses eager to please the elite of the city. Hopeless couples lined up outside the entrance praying to eat at such a greatly talked-about place, but Toushiro thought they were not missing much. Indoors, odors of mouth-watering appetizers dripping in delicate sauces perforated the air, and the susurrus of small talk reverberated back and forth between the gold-leafed ceiling and the floor length windowpanes. Light glimmered from the outside cityscape creating a pearlescent reflection more beautiful than any ordinary painting. Along every wall and architectural terrace, couples toasted to the pride of their success. With a clang of the glasses, their careless laughter rang with a clarity only achieved by the high and wealthy.

The claret carpet, the alabaster chandeliers, the staid butlers...All were prime examples of elegance, and oh, how Toushiro hated it. For the fourth time this week, he was in the same seat of the same table of the same restaurant with the same girl, as always. Well, maybe not the same girl, but all those girls looked the same. Their faces blurred together after a time, and honestly, Toushiro did not care to distinguish the identical facades. Matsumoto really needed to vary her choices for his blind dates. She was always to blame for choosing those glaze-eyed, gold-seeking does. Worst of all was how she managed to convince him to go! She would beckon with her big, grey eyes claiming that they were probable clients, and whether they were or not, Toushiro could not afford to miss out on potential deals. This time, Mastumoto had caught a lively prey, and judging by his watch, for the last twenty-seven minutes now, he had had the pleasure of listening to his current date chatter incessantly.

Toushiro growled. _Next time Matsumoto decides to show her face in my presence, I'm going to kill her._ _She better hope she's sober enough to realize her impending death. _

Looking up from his tepid food, Toushiro saw the girl's lips move, but he could not absorb what she was even saying. He had to admit that she was pretty one, at least, not as bad as some of the previous girls. Matsumoto somehow got the most peculiar notion that he was interested in "more cushion for the pushin'," or some nonsense along those lines. Looking back on those last couple of dates, Toushiro could not help but cringe.

"Honey, what's wrong? Don't you like your penne alla gigi? I heard from Rangiku-san that it is your favorite," cried the girl. What was her name again? Toushiro quietly wracked his brain but to no avail. Matsumoto would pummel him if she found out he didn't at least try to make this date work. Zuki? Nina? Something with an i, he was sure it.

"Yeah, yeah, I just got lost in thought, I supp-" He was cut off when their waiter creepily appeared beside the private booth.

"Akane-san, would you favor another glass of champagne?" the man questioned with a sophisticated drawl. His stoic face stayed rigid as Akane gave a forced grin in return. Toushiro scoffed. He was so sick of the vacuity of this place. No, not just of this place, he was exhausted of this class, of this status in life. Toushiro pushed back his chair and threw down the silk-embroidered napkin. He had had enough.

"Is there anything I can assist you with, Hitsugaya-sama?" Akane shuffled up to follow Toushiro as he stepped down and trudged away. "My father owns a spectacular villa just a few miles down the beach! You, you can relax there if you are tired! Please, where are you going?"

Heads turned as the girl called more attention to herself, and all other conversations were silenced. Akane grabbed Toushiro's sleeve, tugging to force him to turn around, but Toushiro yanked back with disgust etched deeply in the creases of his face.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he growled, and with that, he left directly through the front entrance with the girl trembling behind him.

Not that it was any great concern of his.

Darkness descended on the streets of Karakura, but Toushiro had no need of his eyes to find his way along the labyrinth of concrete sidewalks. What he once recognized as a suburban community years ago was now illuminated as a metropolitan in full bloom. The rootless taxis maintained a gentle drone in Toushiro's ears, but he had grown accustomed to the hum. He welcomed it. He would much rather listen to the constant, comforting noise than the thoughts of his own unraveling mind. Each rhythm of the city added to the augmenting cacophony rapping the inner limits of his cranium, wrestling to cease those thoughts that he denied even existed. He didn't need to listen. What was the point when they would betray him; bring him unhappiness when he was aware he should be grateful for the life he had earned.

Yet, this status of life, he knew was more like a garnish. It was just something to strut to the crowds of admirers like the sumptuous vanes on the peacock's veil. In his chest, Toushiro knew he could not continue in this pathetic state of self-wallowing. Tomorrow, he would have to return as Hitsugaya Toushiro, director of Finance and Document Control, Tenth Sector of SRT (Seireitei) Corp. and Co.

_Damn it,_ he thought,_ Twenty-six, and I'm already in a mid-life crisis. Busting my ass just to get this far, and for what? What am I really supposed to be enjoying?_ he continued, almost reprimanding himself. _Why do people even bother climbing that 'financial ladder'? So that they can make it to the top just to screw more people for more money?_ He sighed heavily.

Toushiro could not accept that the only path left for him was to follow the paw prints of the insatiable jaguars in the business world. Those men were always slinking in the shadows prepared to pounce on any vulnerable creature. Already, he had the penthouse, he had the cars, he had the prestige, but something was still void. There was a vacuum conveniently placed within that sucked the joy from everything he had earned and left it all worthless. But what was it that left him so hollow?

Passing him by, shades of people trekked along, and to Toushiro, they were reflections of the people that have simply passed in and out of his own lifetime.

_Matsumoto swears on her shoe collection that it must be love. _Even in his own personal monologue, Toushiro gave a civilized snort.

_Pfft, what a juvenile conclusion. Everything with her is solved by love. Well, news flash: love is just the excretion of monoamines that excite the feral desires of man into lustful drive. Anyway, look where it got her!_

Toushiro immediately regretted bringing that up. With another deep sigh, he took a moment's pause. Matsumoto Rangiku, his personal assistant, his self-proclaimed nanny, his only sincere companion...He would never admit it to her face, but Rangiku was truly a blessing. A real angel.

Toushiro turned the corner a few blocks down, not sparing even a glimpse at the road signs. He was all too familiar with this area. He spent his college years here roaming this streets, sketching an internal map. Here was where he learned how to finally stretch his wings only to be taught how to forever tie them to his sides.

His sister, Momo, teaches poetry and foreign studies in that same university now. She seemed content enough during her last visit, but he never bothered to ask how the school life was going. It slipped his mind, he supposed. After Granny's death, Toushiro spent the least amount of time possible with the relics of his past. They were too archaic and too fragile to keep alive, so, he let the dust collect.

He doubted it was family he yearned anyway. Sure, the occasional reunion with his sister was decent...provided that it didn't grow too nostalgic, and really, Matsumoto had been more like a mother (a pestering, nagging, lazy one) than an assistant to him in the past couple of years.

At last, the warm light of his final destination came into view. There, down and across the street, was his old café lounge, the one place that could make his coffee the way he liked it and provided the best environment to consume it in. It was really only a quaint shack crammed between a Chinese herb pharmacy and a run-down occult bookshop, but it was close enough to the campus green without being perturbed by the nightclub avenue only a few blocks down. Toushiro looked down the road to his left where he could see the highlights of the neon signs smeared across the cinder block and brick of the building sides. As usual at this time of night, some drunken couples swayed ungracefully from club to club while another gang of intoxicated men, convinced that they were sober, attempted to find their car. They were about as subtle as a rampaging herd of boar.

"Idiots," Toushiro cursed under his breath. He always avoided the racket of the night scene, so like it had been years ago, this was about as close as he ever got. Distracted, he stayed gazing at the flashing lights. A foreboding sense of consternation pooled in his stomach as if warning him of what he already knew. He wasn't stupid enough to get mixed into that sort of crowd.

Suddenly, Toushiro felt a shove against his shoulder, and he found himself disoriented and on the ground. "Yo, punk! Watch where you're goin,'" the stranger slurred back to him and kept walking. Toushiro scoffed at his absentmindedness, and he moved to get back up, but before he could quite push up from the concrete, a flash of white and brown rushed forward and licked him.

Wait...licked? Was he just licked?

Toushiro scuttled backwards until his back pressed against the wall of brick, breaking into a sweat as he tried to get as far away from whatever that thing was. He realized that in his moment of weakness, he had shut his eyes and turned his head away from the slobbering.

_What am I? Eleven? Come on, Hitsugaya, just get up! _

His eyes blinked open to reveal glossy black orbs gazing back at him, followed by a high-pitched yip. Toushiro blinked once, twice, three times more. He stared, dumbfounded.

"I was frightened by a...a dog?" he managed to stutter out.

* * *

"How like Taicho to not call after a date," Matsumoto noted. She was almost done painting her toe nails with the last coat of "Pump up the Jam" purple polish. Without grazing her skin with color, she skillfully groped her bed for her Blackberry, which ironically matched her nail polish perfectly. Considering the time, she guessed that the date was already over and that her Taicho was off wallowing somewhere. She chugged down the last of her sake, and gingerly tiptoed her way to the closet.

She started sifting through the closet for something good to where. "If I don't go and find Taicho, nobody will!" Despite not being quite pleased with what she had to pick from, she made a quick note to go shopping soon (preferably on Taicho's account) and got dressed.

"Well, on second thought, maybe I should give him some time alone," she said to her reflection gazing back in the mirror, "I mean, what if I go out now, only to find him and have him tell me to go away? I would just waste my time _and_ ruin my nails!"

She mulled it over for a second, and as she did, the extra sake bottle on her nightstand caught her eye. With that, Matsumoto decided, and she flopped back down on her covers. "He won't be going anywhere in thirty minutes anyway," she slurred, and once her head hit the blankets, she was knocked out.

* * *

The street was almost empty now except for those drunken men bumbling around for their car. In spite of the fact that he was alone, Toushiro felt self-conscious under the scrutiny of the creature in front of him. He sneered down at the furry, calico mutt who casually dared to stare back up at him. The mutt's piercingly beady eyes almost screamed, "Listen, bub, I can see right through you and you ain't much to look at." It sat on its haunches panting away the intoxicating heat of the night, and as Toushiro stood victim to the dog's undivided attention, he could not help but get a sense of being mocked. This little dog, this little mutt, abandoned on the street, had no home and no cares, and yet he could not have looked happier.

Toushiro crouched down eye-to-eye to face the fluffy, 'innocent' canine. He gave it a single glower and snarled, "Listen to me, dog, and listen well. You do not know me, so you cannot go comparing me to what you know! I am happy with my life, and I don't need you or anyone to tell me otherwise."

The dog yipped up and gave Toushiro a wet, loving kiss. Its snout stretched out in what resembled a very doggy-like grin, and it cocked its head to the side attempting to decipher what this crazy man kept barking about.

After cringing from the disturbing slober, Toushiro straightened up and marched away defiant of any other belief, but before he could escape he heard a pitter patter.

"Quit following me!" Toushiro yelled back at dog, trying to scare it away. "Shoo, get!" He broke into a run, but the dog only increased its gait and followed ever closer.

He gracefully turned on his heel to watch the dog trot along behind him. As he continued to jog backwards, he gradually lost his poise. He watched the dog chase someone that it could never catch up with no matter how it pumped its stout legs to reach. Toushiro knew that no matter how long that little dog followed his trail, it would always be the lone little wolf on this lone little street in his lone little world...

Lone.

Wolf..

Never...

The paranoia set.

"I don't need you! I don't need anybody!" he screamed.

God, why couldn't he escape? Why couldn't he just leave anything behind? Toushiro jumped onto the road without thinking and almost finished crossing the asphalt. He kept his eyes set on the amber window of his beloved café. He could see customers so close, yet so distant. Warm smiles stained their faces, but it was so different than the restaurant before. In that foggy pane, he saw the ghosts of his past mingling in the crowds, but he yearned to join them. He even saw the seductress of his nightmares, a figure veiled in cascading obsidian tresses. He called for her to turn, his conscience screamed for her to simply turn so he could drown in those grey orbs...those windows...

He reached out his arm almost feeling the unyielding firmness of the glass; in his mind, the chill of the clear barrier roped up his fingertips and crept like a lazy, constricting vine so slowly, yet the moment was gone in a second.

"Karin!" he cried, but he knew she would not hear him. She was not even there, only in his mind.

Suddenly, a bright light caught his attention. He turned, paralyzed, the blare of a never-ending honk ringing in his ears, but a final yelp pierced the air before everything went dark.

**Oh my Bruce Lee! (- my god) What do you think, Ninjarific? Oh I already know cuz I'm the author. Teehee : ] If you liked it, and you would like to find out more, please let me know by reviewing! Criticism is very much welcomed because I want to learn and make my stories the best that they can be. I know that this was very Hitsugaya-heavy (not that I'm complaining, are any of you?), but we will meet more of the important characters in chapter 1. **

**By the way, my beta reader is amazing, but she's not into Bleach so it's sorta difficult for her to read through and correct to her full potential. Would anyone be willing to be my beta? Please send me a private message if you're interested. Thanks! **

**Remember, review! : D**


	2. Echoes are to Shadows

**Hey, guys. Guess who's back? **

**"Rukia?"**

**Well, yes, that's true, and it makes me ecstatic, but also, me! I just want to apologize for such a long wait to post. It's just that my dog, who inspired me to write this story as well as always laid by my side when I wrote, died some months ago, and I've been having a very difficult time mourning the loss of my first little puppy girl. However, as you can see, I have not given up hope, and neither should you! I really want to thank those who commented this story. You guys helped me keep going despite how mopey I've been the last couple of months, so thanks to gaaralover1989, MeteorLeopard, Moon Of Jupiter, sayo-chan64, hts911, and all those who have read and favorited my story. I promise faster postings! **

**Disclaimer: As we ALL know, I am not Tite Kubo, and thus, sequentially I do not own Bleach. If I did, man, that story would be crazy by now. Just think of BoBoBo-BoBo-BoBoBo. **

**For now, Bon Appetit! ****Enjoy! Disfruta!**

**~Love, Ninjarific**

* * *

Echoes are to Shadows

Karin tenderly tipped the ceramic mug to her mouth and let the warmth of her coffee careen down her throat. With open affections, she felt the energy she sorely lacked seep into her aching limbs. The effects were always almost instant. With a lackadaisical sigh, she let go of the reins, and her puppet-like body sank further into the leather loveseat. She inwardly cheered for being so conveniently situated away from it all. This was her nest, her crook, her niche where she could avoid the world, especially the gregarious group by the bar at the other end of the café; yet, although she retreated from the lilt of conversation, she couldn't deny how much it comforted her to hear how it complimented the medium of the music that rained from the walls. The cadence was just as warm as the elixir she craved, and she drank up the mood like she drank up her caffeine. She looked around, and her eyes softened from their usual iron slates to a tender smelted pewter. She smiled. This was home, or at least what home should be.

"Karin!"

Instinctively, she stiffened. Her back straightened, her shoulders cramped, and her eyes darkened like a storm, a tempest. All the effort to ease herself into a temporary quietude evaporated in a moment's gust. Karin didn't wait to see who was calling her. She shot up and headed straight towards the exit. This was on her time, against her clock. She only had thirty minutes for break, and between the ten-minute walk here and the ten-minute walk back, she could enjoy a brief moment to sip her drink and back to the hospital she had to go. She was in no mood to chat.

"Karin? Karin! Is that you?" A hand grabbed her before she could get passed the crowd and rendered her escape useless. She yelped a meek curse as the person spun her around and crushed her into his chest.

"Karin, it's me, Renji! Remember? We went to school together?" He loosened his grip slightly and beamed down at her. Karin's face reddened from the lack of air and the strong, lingering scent of musk. She pushed herself out of his bear hug and spat, "Idiot, nobody could forget you even if they wanted to. Do _you_ happen to know another red-headed pineapple covered in magic marker?"

Renji only chuckled. "That's that big-mouth I remember. It's been years since I last heard from you. What happened to staying in touch?"

Renji plopped down on one of the tall stools smack dab in the front of the window. He patiently expected an answer, but he was simply so happy to see an old friend that he didn't even care what the reason was. In a way, he resembled a puppy, a trusting, extremely overgrown puppy. Never being able to deny a perky smile, she reluctantly sat down, too. Hopefully, one of her colleagues could cover for her in the meantime.

"Well, you know, we all get busy. To be fair, you didn't call me either! So, I kept up with school and all. It feels like I'll never stop studying for something, but I wouldn't mind that to be honest."

Renji looked at her, admiring her. He grinned at what some people have called her hotheadedness and what he liked to call her bold determination. Thinking back, she had been fierce on the soccer field and even fiercer in the field of medicine, and he loved her for it.

"Looks like you haven't changed a bit, Rini."

Karin blushed and brushed off the stupid nickname her college mates had given her. She absentmindedly pulled her coat closer to her torso, hoping to hide the teal scrubs she wore underneath, and replied coolly, "And I see your hair still resembles a swollen blowfish with a sunburn. I'm sorry, Renji, but I don't have the time to reminisce. I have to go."

Renji scowled and mocked, "What? Are you going back to your books, nerd, or are you going back to work? You always were such a workaholic. It shouldn't surprise me."

Karin glowered at him and tugged on her jacket once more. He was right, but she would die before letting him prove her wrong. "Of course I'm not going back to work! I was just picking up a little something before heading to Yuzu's. She insisted on throwing a party to celebrate my residency at the hospital." _Yeah, five months ago_. "Got a problem with that?" The lie slipped out, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Plus, it seemed to be just enough to spur him into another conversation.

"Wow, really? Congrats! You know, I've been working with some big-shots myself." Karin cocked an eyebrow and asked dubiously, "Yeah? Like who?"

"Well, you remember Hitsugaya, right?"

Karin stopped and tried to still the ruckus that erupted in her chest from the sound of the name. "Uhm, who?" She tried to mask her sudden and unwelcomed restlessness by feigning disinterest. Well, no, she didn't feign disinterest because she honestly didn't care! '_That's right!'_ she thought, '_I must be getting excited from the coffee, that's all.'_

"Come on! You have to remember him! He was the really cold guy that would hang out with us sometimes? Real unsocial, though. Always seemed like he had an icicle up his…"

"Ok, yeah. I sorta remember someone like that. So?"

"Right, well, he hired me into SRT, and I've been working in the Sixth Sector thanks to him. Remember Rukia? Her older brother is my boss, and…"

Then, Karin completely lost interest. Renji's voice became just another ostinato in the background track. She was too absorbed in her inner monologue to catch what he was saying exactly, and she didn't quite care enough to try.

'_Toushiro. I haven't thought of that name in so long. I haven't seen him since…not that I'd want to see that arrogant, pig-headed, cold…sincere, gentle…pain in the ass…"_ Karin felt her heart sink. She nodded absent-mindedly at Renji's enthusiastically bobbing heading, but inside, she could feel her resolve cracking. She had known him so well or at least thought she had. There were so many fond memories, and she could recall them all vividly like the honey sweet scent of his cologne, the glances of frosted turquoise, the way he would whisper her name…She could almost hear the echo of him saying it so long ago…

"Karin!"

Karin was shocked out of her reverie. She looked up at Renji who had also paused his one-sided conversation at the call. She scanned across the room trying to catch another familiar face, but in their vagueness, no one looked in her direction. But, if it wasn't Renji this time, then who could it have been…

Suddenly, the screeching of forced brakes muted the casual vibrato of conversation in the lounge. Deafened, Karin could no longer hear the wonderful cascade of music she so enjoyed. Everyone in the dimness stopped as if trapped in a crystal of the amber lighting. They were relics of a moment; though not trapped in physical stone, they were engraved in memory.

A screeching yelp cut through the silence, and Karin, accustomed to the traces of panic, was the first one to react.

* * *

Outside, a crowd had just started congregating around the incident. The scene looked like something extracted from twisted fairytale under the eerie glaze of orange streetlights. A gaudy orange sports car was parked haphazardly on the side of the road, crooked and resembled a sleek, robotic pumpkin, and there inside, four obviously drunken princes argued what to do next. Peering through the windshield, Karin didn't see anyone in critical condition, so she proceeded to search across the asphalt for the real victim.

'_There!'_

Like an abandoned marionette, the victim lay wrapped in a black hoodie, crumpled a few yards away from the bumper of the car. With his back facing her (Was it a he? _'Yes, judging by the blocky shape of the hips, it must be.'_), Karin knew to check for any neck injuries, for a bruised rib cage, and for any concussions to the cranium. She kneeled down by his side and checked the pulse on his wrist. It was faint but still existent. Karin was relieved to know that she was able to help, but she knew he wasn't out of the woods just yet.

'_I have to move him on his back quickly to clear his airway, but I can't risk shifting him in case the spine is damaged.'_ She looked up, scanning the crowd for anyone able to help her.

"Is there anyone experienced in medical attention?" she cried. She prayed to god that the ambulance would be here soon. She could only do so much on the spot.

Renji and another man came running to her aid from the frayed, self-defined edges of the crowd. The man, probably in his mid-thirties, huffed, "I'm an EMT from Kyoto. I can help." Karin nodded, and positioned both of her arms under the body while the man took care of the movement of the neck. On the count of three, they flipped the body together. The man pulled the cotton hood that hid the face, and immediately, Renji and Karin recognized who it was.

Karin put a hand over her mouth to silence the sob that almost over her. She gazed down at his face, Toushiro's handsome face, and felt horror bath her. His once pristine hair was slicked back by the blood seeping from the gash on his forehead, and his eyelashes were flecked with dust and sand that so often robed the street. His chest was barely rising, but it elevated nonetheless. Renji pulled out his phone and left to make a call, but Karin couldn't care less. She straightened and forcefully swallowed the hysteria that threatened to take over with all the energy she could muster. She was a professional, but something had to be done.

"Please take care of him, oji-san."

Without any other instructions, Karin stood from Toushiro's side and walked toward the vehicle. The four bumbling idiots had managed to climb out of their car, and with disdain, Karin noticed how they were only bumped and lightly bruised. One of them, the one that had clambered out of the driver's side, teetered to the fender, inspecting for any damage. Stoically and with her chin held high, she walked up to the drunken buffoon.

"Are you the owner of this car?" She could smell the alcohol on his person. He swung around, and flashed her a toothy grin.

"Nice ride, isn't it, babe?"

She cocked her eyebrow, and without a second thought, she landed her fist across his left cheek. He tumbled back like a ragdoll onto the hood of the car and was out before she could land the next one.

* * *

Toushiro felt a languid throb pounding on his head. It felt muffled, or somehow distant, yet like a pulse, it stuck his very core as if it was radiating from within. He felt odd, somehow different. He was himself, but he wasn't all there. In the shadows of what looked like a valley between the walls of a trench, Toushiro sat crossed-legged on grey outcropping. He had given up looking around this natural prison. It was like a freakish labyrinth, every wall and pebble looked identical. All it needed was the Minotaur to go with rock corridors were dusted with darkness, and for what felt like hours, he had followed the trail equipped with his instincts and them alone, but the exit seemed to continue forever until it became the beginning from where he had started. He tried to remember how he arrived in the first place, but like a dream, he had no recollection of anywhere but here. He still knew who he was, but only faintly. He couldn't quite pinpoint anything else in his mind.

'_I feel gone, but I'm right here. I feel so dense, yet I think that if I jump, I might float away. I'm rushed, I have to do something, I know it, but I feel sluggish as if under a drug. I…I feel…empty?'_ Toushiro could only ask himself because he didn't know an answer. He felt himself flicker like a wisp victim to the breeze, and shuddered. His hand was placed, cemented to his head, to calm the brewing storm he could feel within his limits. He unlocked his gaze from the unchanged floor and quickly scanned the area around him before looking back down. Still only the Shadows were around for company.

The Shadows had surrounded him from the moment he felt conscious of where he was. They were these humanoid figures of opaque obscurity that often fidgeted and shifted weight…if they had any. He had to suppose they had some. Sometimes a Shadow manifested and then vanished, and within a moment, another Shadow was in its place. In the middle of the semicircle they intuitively formed, one Shadow stooped over like a hunch waving about and struggling against like some imaginary force. This Shadow had intrigued him the most, but he felt a lingering inquietude that made him want to keep away from it. That's why he had gone 'exploring' in the first place. Still that Shadow wobbled frantically, and the more it moved, the worse the pain on his head grew.

Toushiro clutched at his head again grunting and cringing as a wave of the pain thudded heavier than before. More Shadows arrived surrounding him like an audience of a show waiting for the curtain to rise. He flailed as they caved closer into him while a handful of the monsters rushed from the crowd to the Shadow in the middle and back. He managed to swipe a particularly large blob on his left side. He winced, expecting a momentary chill or tingle of the spine, but instead, he was numb to the touch. He reached out again to the creature, but it backed away like a fearful rabbit and skirted to the edge of the crowd.

"What are you watching?" he cried out. He felt silly in this world like a lost little Alice trapped in a gray-scale Wonderland, but he was confused and angry and frustrated. He screamed at the vague misshapen creatures or humanoids or phantoms or whatever they were, and when he rushed toward them, they remained relatively still. Closer, they looked even hazier in his sight, and they mocked him with their very presence.

He shot up to his feet and stalked back and forth in front of the audience of Shadows that showed no signs of following his movements.

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?" he yelled; frustration dominated his tone. "Why won't anyone speak! Answer me!"

Silence was the only response.

Toushiro sank down on his knees. "What is wrong with me? I'm so lost…" His voice cracked in grief and defeat. What would he succumb to now? Toushiro slowly brought his head up, beaten. His eyes looked forward so hollow of emotion that, accentuated by the paleness of his skin, Toushiro resembled a skeleton.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, two eyes gazed back at his: bright, blue, and brilliant. There, out of nowhere, stood the dog. Toushiro sighed and sat back on his haunches. "You again? What are you doing here?" Toushiro wasn't surprised. If anything, he actually cheered up a little seeing something living and breathing.

Toushiro slowly stretched out his hand, and the dog trotted over and readily lowered its head, presenting Toushiro with a patch of pearly fur to pet. Here, he could see the creature a little better than under the streetlights. It was strange because although the barred valley was shrouded in darkness, an eerie violet shone like a cloak across the ledges and Shadows.

It was a medium-sized dog, bigger than he remembered it in his faint memory. It obviously wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. It panted comfortably, exposing its plump tongue and the blunt tips of ivory fangs; its nimble body shook gently with each intake of breath, and so, its pelt of silvery strands rippled against its somewhat muscular build. Its cuneate ears laid pressed against its scalp and gave its head a sleek aspect trailing from its jutted forehead down to its peaked, trimmed muzzle. Of course, its eyes shone bright blue in the hazy mist of grey, and they gave it an aura of profound understanding, the likes that even Toushiro could not comprehend.

Toushiro scratched its scalp, feeling a little more at peace than he did before. The frustration had washed away for the moment and left him with that foreboding sense of emptiness once more. From its sitting position, the dog jumped onto its thick padded paws, and leapt towards the the crowd of Shadows. It looked back at Toushiro expectantly as if tugging him with its eyes.

"Where are you going?" Toushiro yelled after it. The dog pounced into the throng of Shadows, and already, Toushiro yearned for the company even if it couldn't speak back to him. From the throng, a clear bark sounded and ricocheted off the walls and across the corridor. Toushiro tried to follow, but in his mind, he felt fear of leaving.

"But from where am I leaving anyway?" he questioned himself.

He urged himself to move forward, but he panicked and backed away from the pack. He turned to the Shadow of the middle which was still pulsing and moving and always constant of motion. Other Shadows circled it like a carousel, orbiting the center and back to the crowd; flashes moved so quickly that instead they looked like outlandish clouds of mist. He was caught in a storm of action, and the pain rocketed like bullets in his skull. He felt so close to the motions, yet so far. He wanted to touch them, to feel the same frantic movement, to escape his own mind!

"Somebody, please, help! Gah!" The pain took over his control. He clawed at his temples and pulled at the hair behind his ears to distract himself with another source of pain. "Matsumoto!"

Careful arms wrapped around him, and gentle hands guided his fists away from his hair. The movement disappeared; everything stopped. The Shadow was gone from the center, now, though the crowd still stood.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you," a voice called out.

"Matsumoto?" he croaked.

"Shh, just rest," it said, "I'll take care of you."

* * *

**So? Whatcha think? I hope you liked it! I worked super hard on it! To be honest, I wrote this in so many chunks. I couldn't keep going sometimes, or I'd cry, but then I remembered how much I love writing and how much I love my idea of this story! Please keep on commenting because you guys inspire me to keep going when I can't write. **

**Oh and uh, p.s. I am soooo sorry because I've wanted to reply to all your wonderful comments, buuuuut...ok, laugh if you will cuz I know I would laugh at myself, but I honestly don't know how to reply to comments! haha, I never had any until these two stories (that's because I never posted anything, but that's besides the point), so if anyone would be willing to send me a message to tell me how, I would be honored to reply to your comments and answer your questions! Gracias, amores 3**

**Oh one last thing! This is for MeteorLeopard: I think you are already just too cool! haha, just by your first message, I could tell I liked you! Again, from above said message, I didn't know how to reply back saying that I would love it if you could be my beta reader! Just said me another message, and then, I can give you my e-mail!**

**So, thanks for checking me out! Hope you enjoyed the story.**

**Remember, review! **


	3. My Parachute

**Happy Hanukwanmas! Sorry this is so late in the making, I really am! I've been so busy with school and college applications sucked away my life, but good news! I got accepted to my top choice, so life is good! And so, I wanted to make sure I finished this puppy up as a little Christmas present from me to all you supporters! That includes:**

**Rianan D' Halmsu, MeteorLeopard, RetroChick80, Hakkuchi, ChocolateMarshmallows, Twistedkorn, Dusmar TinTin, Violetxtears, sayo-chan64, gaaralover1989, hts911, and Moon of Jupiter!**

**Hopefully this was worth the wait because I made it nice, long, and juicy like Christmas ham!**

**Enjoy!**

**~Ninjarific**

**PS None of these characters belong to me, thought I would not have minded finding them in my stocking this year!**

Parachute

"I'll take care of you..." The voice was faint, almost nonexistent. Still, it pierced through the congealed silence that clung to the lavender garishness of the mist. Toushiro knew it was no figment of sound. He heard it for sure. He felt more certain of that than of his own name. He felt the tender silhouette of warmth circle his shoulders, and it crept up on him, so soothing and familiar.

"Hello...?" He urged his voice to speak louder, to be less hesitant. God, what was wrong with him? "Hello!"

"Hello, Taicho!" another voice screeched above the mood, and the silence collapsed. "Taicho, over here! Hey, dog, wait up. I can't see where you're going! Damn these heels..." And from the throng of grayness, red hair erupted as Matsumoto thrusted herself out of the crowd with the dog at her heels. In relief, she brushed herself off a bit and looked up to spot her favorite (and one and only) boss. She heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head gently as if trying to rid her mind of her thoughts. Out of the grey, Matsumoto looked like she had aged ten years from the weariness burdening her shoulders.

Toushiro beamed when he saw his assistant. "Matsumoto, thank god you're here. I..."

"Oh Taicho," she clucked," Look what you've done to yourself now!"

Toushiro instinctively scowled, and for a moment, he felt like his old self. "What do you mean 'what have I don't?' I think the proper question should be what in the world is happening to me!"

"Well, it should be expected when you practically go and kill yourself!"

Toushiro stayed silent for a moment and then grunted as his head throbbed. He put a palm to his temple in an attempt to coax the memory of what had happened back to his awareness, but all he could remember were vague sounds, maybe some emotions merged and unrecognizable in the shamble of his consciousness. He glanced up at his assistant, her face etched with seriousness.

'_Yeah, for once in her life and apparently never in mine,'_ he thought. "So, I'm dead," he stated frankly, his face stoic, emotionless.

"Well, not entirely." She shifted from one foot to another, skittish under he boss' burning curiosity. She didn't quite know hoe she was going to explain all this.

"Why are you speaking in riddles? Stop fooling around, and just explain what's going on." His eyebrows furrowed, and the scowl that christened his countenance deepened.

"Just take a look at yourself before I explain any further."

Toushiro lowered his gaze but not before he rolled his eyes. "What are you getting at? It's not like I'm disappear..." He brought hid arm closer to get a better view, but there was no denying it. His arm, right in front of his eyes, was gradually vanishing. He scanned his whole body, and it struck him that he hadn't noticed earlier. His arms, feet, torso, every part of him gleamed with a slightly translucent sheen.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Taicho, but you are dying."

Suddenly, the memories flooded back to him, and the immensity of his emotions inundated him. He remembered it all now: the distress, the paranoia...the shame.

"At least you're lucky. The process is excruciatingly slow, here."

"Rangiku, where is _here_? Am I...Is this...hell?"

Matsumoto had often seen the anguish so tightly concealed in the confines of Toushiro's heart, but now she could feel it radiating from the man, long since boy, right in front of her.

Unable to look at him anymore, she looked around at the cavity in which they found themselves in and responded, "No, actually, you are in what we call Limbo. Right now, you are in a state between life and death, in a place between existence and nothingness. Your body hasn't died yet." Then, she turned her attention to the mutt patiently posed next to her. "If it hadn't been for him, you'd have been dead for sure. He took the brunt of the force, poor little guy. He limped away and ended up dying in the alley. You have him to thank but maybe not for long. You were hurt from the impact of hitting the asphalt, and from the looks of it, even if your body hasn't died, you spirit will soon."

Toushiro couldn't make sense of what he recently recalled, let alone the things that Matsumoto was telling him. Limbo? Spirit? He had never even believed in ghosts for crying out loud!

'_No,' _he thought as he clambered unsteadily back onto the projection he sat on before. _'I've just got to clear all this debris shrouding my thoughts. Get rid of the sentiment, Toushiro. It's not the time for it now. It's not the time for it ever!'_ Steeling himself, he concentrated on bottling the unnecessary emotions that death had liberated from where he had imprisoned them. Like a mask, he re-adorned his icy façade. He turned abruptly away from Matsumoto.

"Am I going to end up like them, then?" he said, his voice now distant and surly. He watched the Shadows that stood the same as ever.

"No, those are the shadows of actual people and their spiritual presences."

Toushiro frowned in confusion. This day was getting no better. "I don't understand. I thought we were in Limbo." The dog yipped in agreement. Turns out he's been listening, too.

"We are, but this isn't a state of oblivion, either. It is the dimension along the frays of the living world." She gently grabbed his hand and led him towards the shadows that now resembled more like fidgeting gargoyles than anything else. "Here, it's easier to show you than to explain."

Matsumoto lightly pressed the pads of her forefingers on his forehead, and without delay, the light, the voice, and the vigor of life bombarded him. The world exposed itself out of the grey cocoon of Limbo but such a hasty transition overwhelmed his already dulled senses. He blinked trying to clear his blurred vision, but the surrounding strobes of glowing tangerine, azure, and crimson glared on the obscurity of a fog only he could see. The radiance casted hazy rays on what he made out to be a crowded sidewalk.

Toushiro hesitantly took a step once the world before him finally stopped swaying, and his equilibrium returned to him. Too soon, his hearing absorbed the discord of noise, and the scene revealed itself like a photograph developing in a dark room. Now he realized that what he had seen as statuesque shadows materialize into gaping, pale faces of people squirming behind police lines. Officers ushered them back relentlessly, urging them home, but the people couldn't turn their eyes away. They were too much like mosquitoes drawn to the light of disaster, watching, staring, only to wish that they hadn't seen it at all.

The dog jumped on his hind legs at the action happening in front of him and joyfully sniffed the night air. His long, shaggy tail swept the mica on the asphalt, and he barked unsure of what to do first. His nose twitched, and following a particular scent of blood, he trotted over to the center of the incident. A bellowing howl erupted from his throat calling for Matsumoto and Toushiro's attention. They passed the paramedics and the people clamoring to get a better view, and Toushiro saw there the Shadow that had been working and rushing and fussing and tossing around. It had been the spirit of none other than his ex-girlfriend...

...trying her best to save his life.

* * *

"Kaname! Where's that syringe? I don't have all day," Karin barked.

Toushiro watched, paralyzed by the activity, as a uniformed woman dug through a bag and sift out a hollow needle. Karin snatched it from the girl's hand before she could pass it. "Finally! You should have brought it sooner! You know I have to perform thoracentesis before you can move can move him into the ambulance."

Karin, somehow combining haste and precision, ripped open Toushiro's top with sheer force and began pushing down on his ribcage with her fingertips. She finally found what she was looking for and carefully punctured his body's abdomen with the instrument. Toushiro looked down to his side where he could feel a subtle poke corresponding to where she had stabbed. He could hear a kind of hissing pierce the air from the straw, and the body's thorax deflated.

Karin's face was immediately adorned with relief while she quickly moved aside and let the team of medics do their job. Under her breath, she muttered, "I told you I would take care of you," and despite her relief, it was obvious concern plagued her thoughts.

Toushiro crept closer to her and saw that a sheen of sweat coated her face. Her cheeks gleamed like the skin of an apple, flushed from the humidity of action, and her ebony hair was pulled up into a messy bun that attempted to keep the strands away from her face. The lights of the sirens scattered shadows on the delicate contours of her profile, and they made her face resemble something abstract and exotic.

She had never looked so beautiful.

"But she can't see me," he said, noting, unable to hide the regret coating his words..

He felt Rangiku's hand clasp his shoulder from behind, and she gave it a comforting squeeze. "Taicho," she started slowly, "I have to bring you back. In this world, you have even less time, and here, you're soul will disintegrate soon. You're already getting harder to see as it is, even for me."

Toushiro felt ashamed of his life, he had always been, but now, he second-guessed the validity of the life he had had at all. Regret converted into blame, and blame evolved into anger. He coldly shrugged off Rangiku's hand and bore straight into her eyes. His turquoise eyes hardened into an accusing look.

"How do you even know all this? How did you find me? I mean, why can you even see me? Is this just me losing my mind?" He never thought that Matsumoto would be one to hide things from him, and in the outskirts of his mind, he felt the emerging pain of betrayal. "Why are you doing this, Rangiku?"

Matsumoto's porcelain face cracked with worry. She was mortified by her taicho's look of contempt, but she understood why he was lashing out at her. She had known this day would come. To be fair, in a completely different situation, her face would have appeared quite comical, actually, like a little girl who had made a mess and had just been caught.

'_Or more like a big girl who has been drinking instead of doing paperwork,'_ he mused. In the midst of all that was happening, it was funny, even ironic that he managed to remain so cynical. He felt his anger melt away into a puddle. It was stupid of him to be blaming his only salvation and his only friend. Here he was, rejecting his only parachute. Plus, he never could quite stay mad at Matsumoto...for long anyway.

"Fo...Forgive me," he whispered, sinking down to sit on his heels, shivering slightly. "It's just all too much. If I don't get answers, I'll..." he trailed not wanting to think of what and will be.

Matsumoto panicked. "Well, you have to understand, Taicho, that restricted by abiding rules of the business, I am not entitled the access to grant you those answers..."

Toushiro felt his suspicion multiply. His eyebrows furrowed and deepened the creases on his forward as he questioned her skeptically, "Abiding the rules of _what_ business? You obviously never follow any of _my_ rules." His eyes narrowed dangerously, and the demanding leer intensified. Matsumoto thought for a moment that the stare burned through her, and naturally, she cowered from the terror of her boss. Alive or not, Toushiro could be one very scary guy.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you!"

"Matsumoto," he growled back.

Matsumoto heaved a defeated sigh. Either way, she was going to get in trouble for this mess, so might as well have a little fun with it. With that last thought, she surrendered the last of her very limited self-control, and said, "Ok, Taicho, you win, but don't be surprised when I say I told you so!"

Toushiro said nothing in return, arms crossed, waiting for the excuse he knew she was cooking up this time.

"I'm your guardian angel!"

...

...

...

"I'm leaving."

With that, he pivoted towards the open road, passed the ambulance lifting his body into the haul, and marched ahead without even a glance back.

"Taicho! Where are you going?"

"Back to my apartment. Maybe by some stroke of luck, I will wake up, and you will be entirely gone from my life."

"No! Taicho, please!" Matsumoto jumped and clung to Toushiro's leg.

"Gah! Matsumoto! Let me go! I think I've had enough of your jokes for one night! He continued to drag her along, and she wailed, "Come on! I told you the truth. Isn't that what you wanted? Ok, maybe I'm not quite what you think of when you think angel, but that's the best way you humans put it! At least stay still, I just did my nails!"

Toushiro pinched the bridge of his nose. "You need to stay calm, Hitsugaya. Just...gah, deep breaths!"

Matsumoto clambered up and brushed her jeans, "Well, technically, Taicho, you can't breathe. It's just the memory of breathing that calm..." Toushiro silenced her with his notorious glare.

"Eeep!"

'_This is hopeless,'_ he thought, looking around, trying his best to calm the frustration and fury festering inside. Around him, the crowd had begun to dissipate as the EMTs cleaned up the last of the accident scene. Now that the emergency spectacle was at an end, there was nothing left but to go home for those lucky enough to have one.

Beside the lamppost across the way, Karin stood, oblivious to the ranting of the invisible pair and watched as the street subdued back into its mellow pace. She looked at her wristwatch, and cursed.

"Damn it. Forty minutes late for my shift."

"You're not going to work are you?" Renji questioned, aghast and still a bit shaky.

"Of course I am! I can't just leave for break and not come back."

"I thought you said you had to go to Yuzu's...?" Renji quirked an eyebrow in amusement. Karin, realizing she was being snagged by her own trap, punched him in the arm and snapped, "Oh, shuddap."

He laughed. It was a relief to finally shed the tension that had been hanging over them since they left the café. He put an arm around her, and he offered, "Mind if I walk you to the hospital at least?"

Karin thought about it for a moment, and then, quietly answered back, "Sure, why not."

They began heading in the opposite direction, and even being halfway dead didn't stop the wrench of jealousy from gnawing at Toushiro's heart. He sighed and reluctantly watched them about to turn the corner he had passed so many timed in his own life. That was over now, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her leave. "Karin!" he called out desperate for her attention. He didn't expect her to hear, and he didn't want to look.

But there, out of the corner of his eye, Karin paused, only briefly, if just a second. She was somber, quiet, tired, confused, but in her eyes, something sparked as she looked back to where he stood.

'_Can she hear me...?'_ His face softened, and his heart, usually so heavy, danced in his chest. _'Maybe,'_ he prayed. He called out her name one more time. "Karin!"

His crystal orbs found her ashen ones. He searched her eyes for a glimpse of recognition, but too soon they left his.

"Is something wrong?" Renji inquired, stopping as she had.

"No. Just thought I heard something..."

* * *

Matsumoto stood back and watched as her mind began to concoct a little plan to fix this mess and clear her name. Just a little thing, only a tad devious, and it wouldn't cause much trouble...for her at least. She glanced down at her newly decided furry cohort and flashed him a devilish smile to which he only whined in response.

"Oh, hush. This will solve everything! You can even help!" Matsumoto tossed her curls over her shoulder and made to bring Toushiro back to reality. It was her special talent, after all!

"Oy, Taicho," she sang out, her voice guised in concern. "I'm sorry, but I need to bring you back for sure now."

Toushiro felt tired. He felt so tired, so slow, so lazy, so done. It was all too much, and now, his form was hardening syrup, crawling in time. He blinked languidly, trying to imprint Karin's retreating form into his memory. Cocking his head, he murmured, "If I'm going to die, then I'd rather spend it here than rotting in a dimensional graveyard."

He coughed lightly and tucked his hands in his pockets, feeling a little self-conscious for reasons he didn't have energy to quite grasp. What had he gotten himself into?

She followed suit, and hidden from behind him, a smirk graced her lips. It was funny just how much she had grown to know him. Better than her closet, even!

"I don't know, Taicho," she stated, scratching the back of her curls, "To stay very long in this world you need a body for certain or you wouldn't even last a day. Now, with a vessel, you would have a much longer, relatively speaking, but I can't just go 'Poof,' and you got yourself a body!"

"I don't know, then, make me one. You're an angel, or are you not? Don't they perform miracles or some bull like that?"

His eyes gleamed. He knew she was bluffing, but he would make her admit. This had to be all just one big joke, and a sick joke at that.

She took a deep breath and tossed her curls frantically with the shake of her head. She had to play this up, didn't she? She was Matsumoto Rangiku after all!

"It's not that simple! I can't just conjure up a body. It takes massive amounts of energy, and as your guardian, it would be all on me to maintain that vessel. To be honest, you wouldn't even be able to do much in a human gigai."

"Well, I can't say I told you so. If a 'guardian' such as yourself can't even grant me as much time as possible where'd I'd like to 'waste away' as you said, then there's really nothing else you can..."

"Time? Is that really what you want? As much time as possible, Toushiro?"

As she asked him, everything about her seem to change. She seemed taller all of a sudden, and her shoulders, squared and straightened now, appeared broader. Even her hair seemed fuller, gleaming like ribbons of topaz as an abrupt wind propelled it every which way. Yet, what had changed most were her eyes. They were the same, yet, they looked deeper, as if her inner soul had unlocked paths into her core through the grey gates. They became transcendental.

Toushiro looked at her, too confused to keep up his mocking games anymore. "Well, yes, but didn't you already say..."

"Then, what you say goes!" With that, Matsumoto tapped her boss square in the forehead with the pads of her fingers, and like a puppet relieved of its strings, Toushiro collapsed.

She gazed down at him tenderly before scooping him up under her left arm. "If only you know what you were asking for, you would kill me for just giving it to you. Still, I never could say no to you, huh, Taicho?" She gave his head a quick pat before following what was left of him, the pooch trotting along to keep up.

* * *

**Ok, sorry, I'm not so great with cliffhangers! Haha, wow, that was really long huh? To be honest, I had planned these last 3 chapters to be all one, but when I got down to writing it, the characters took over. They are really persistent, but I couldn't help mention even those minute details because they are so important to convey the emotion I'm trying to push through! The next chapter will explain much more about Matsumoto's role and hidden conspiracies, though it's not exactly how it seems! Stay tuned because I'm really looking forward to this next one myself, haha! **

**Rate and review because I thrive on criticism! Happy holidays! : D **


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